An external hard drive is often purchased to extend the space of your Mac or Windows PC, for the first time of using a newly purchased external hard drive, like Seagate, you will be required to initialize the disk. But why there is still error about external hard drive uninitialized on mac and how to fix this?
To solve this, here are 8 fixes regarding External Hard Drive Uninitialized on mac. Also, you will learn about how to recover data from uninitialized external hard drive on mac, no matter which brand of external hard drive you are using.
Once you have taken a backup of your Mac data, you need to restart in the recovery mode. The Mac Recovery Mode is a dedicated module in the operating system that provides all kinds of firmware and disk-related options. You can run disk utilities via the Recovery Mode on MacBook, reinstall macOS, recover Time Machine backup, and do so much more. Reinstall a previous version of the Mac OS using the appropriate Mac OS Installer. Use Time Machine to restore from a date when your Mac was using a previous version of the o perating system. With any of the downgrade methods, you’re going to lose all the data currently on your Mac.
Recover Uninitialized External Disk Data
- Compatible on macOS 11 Big Sur
- Recover files from uninitialized, formatted and deleted external hard drive
- Recover 200+ types of file from external and internal hard drive
- 5 recovery modes to restore data lost due to different reasons
- Preview files before recovery
- High recovery rate
What Does Uninitialized External Hard Drive Mean?
If there appears a message indicating uninitialized external hard drive, it has 2 meanings:
For 1st time user of a brand new external hard drive, you will be required to initialize the disk for use, if your mac shows it as initialized external hard drive when connecting, it means your new external hard drive is not activated and not ready for use, your mac needs to use its own language to assign a starting value to the variable of this external hard drive.
For users who have initialized the external hard drive before, uninitialized external hard drive means your mac cannot read your disk anymore and deems this risk is not accessible, while this happens in most of the cases when talking about uninitialized external hard drive. This can be caused by different reasons, keep reading to find out how this come out.
Reasons for Uninitialized External Hard Drive
Reasons to cause uninitialized external hard drive vary but basically fall into following types:
- Connection issue
- Physical damages
- Virus Attack
- Partition Loss
- Bad sectors
- File system corruption
To fix uninitialized external hard drive caused under different situations, here we list 9 solutions as in following part, you can choose the one according to you need.
8 Fixes for Uninitialized External Hard Drive on Mac
#1 Restart Mac
When errors happen, no matter on your mac, Windows PC, iPhone or Android phone, you will be recommended to restart your device as the first aid, since restarting is the most magical method to put everything back to normal again.
You just need to unplug your external hard drive from your mac, then click the Apple icon>Restart, or press Command+Control+Power to restart your mac, then connect the hard drive to your mac again and check if this works.
#2 Reconnect External Hard Drive
Your Seagate or WD uninitialized external hard drive may be caused by connection issues, you can reconnect your external hard drive to mac by changing a USB port or use another USB cable, to make sure it is connected properly.
#3 Scan Virus
As we mentioned in the 2nd part, virus attack may lead to uninitialized disk, no matter there is virus attacking your mac or not, you can scan virus with an anti-virus program on your mac to make sure there is no harm from outside, trying to weaken your mac.
As for anti-virus program, you can try following:
- Kaspersky
- Norton
- ESET
- Bitdefender
- Avast
#4 Fix with Disk Utility
Disk Utility is the free macOS program designed to manage and repair both internal & external hard drive, also, you can utilize Disk Utility to format and combine disks. For uninitialized external hard drive on mac, you can use Disk Utility as the first aid to kill this problem.
Steps to Fix Uninitialized External Hard Drive with Disk Utility
- Go to Applications>Disk Utility, run the program;
- Choose your external hard drive name;
- Click on First Aid>Run, repair the external hard drive on your mac;
- Then check if the hard drive can be accessed to;
#5 Reinstall, Upgrade or Downgrade macOS
If the uninitialized external hard drive happens just after you upgrade or downgrade macOS, that may be the problem, the working environment has changed. In this case, you may need to reinstall macOS, upgrade or downgrade to original macOS version, get back the files from your external hard drive first, then install your preferred macOS.
Fix Uninitialized External Hard Drive with OS Reinstallation
- Press Power button;
- Once you hear the sound, press and hold Command+R;
- In the macOS utilities interface, choose Reinstall macOS;
- Choose hard drive, click Install and wait for the installation to finish.
Fix Uninitialized External Hard Drive with OS Upgrade
If your external hard drive is displayed as Uninitialized after macOS downgrade, you will need to upgrade to your original macOS.
- Go to Mac Appstore;
- Click “Update”;
- Download and install the latest macOS;
- Restart your mac and plug your external hard drive for check.
Fix Uninitialized External Hard Drive with OS Upgrade
(with TimeMachine Backup)
- Click Apple icon>Restart;
- Once you hear the startup sound, press and hold Command+R until the Apple logo appears;
- Choose Restore from a Time Machine Backup, click Continue;
- Choose your Time Machine backup disk;
- Choose the Time Machine backup to restore and follow the onscreen instructions;
#6 Format
If above listed methods all fail to fix your uninitialized external hard drive on mac, maybe it is time to format it. To format the disk means erasing the data from your disk, a data recovery program will be needed to restore these formatted files, yes, this is risky, but it is an efficient way to fix your uninitialized disk.
Also, for your information, formatting doesn’t mean deleting files permanently, it refers to no portal is provided to find and access to these files anymore, they become invisible but is available for add new data. Once there is new data added, the previously formatted files won't be recovered anymore.
Steps to Fix Uninitialized External Hard Drive with Formatting
- Go to Disk Utility, run the program;
- Choose your external hard drive;
- Click Erase, choose name and format for your disk;
- Then click Erase;
- Find a data recovery program to recover files from formatted hard drive. (You can jump to the 3rd part for steps)
#7 Contact Support
Or the issue of uninitialized external hard drive is caused by physical damages of the disk, like loose or malfunctioned small elements in the hard disk, then you can contact the support staff from the supplier of your hard drive, especially your hard drive is still within the expiry date. If you are using Seagate or Western Digital or other famous brands of hard drive, it is quite easy to get contact with their support.
Just visit their official website, grab the contact information and have a call, or find out your receipt and contact as instructed on the file.
#8 Replace
If your hard drive is still in its life circle, fix 1 to fix 7 should have worked, but if failed, you just need a new one to replace this uninitialized hard drive. Before disposal, find a professional data recovery software to save the files into your mac or other storage devices, then buy yourself a new and better external hard drive.
Recover Data from Uninitialized External Hard Drive
Reinstall Mac Os Catalina Without Losing Database
What if you just lost the files in an uninitialized external hard drive? Take it easy, you can get them back. A data recovery software is designed to handle this.
The list of data recovery tools is long, but Cisdem’s won't ever let you down. Cisdem Data Recovery is a mac program enabling users to recover more than 200 types of file from both external and internal storage devices on mac, it provides 5 recovery mode to deal with data loss caused by different reason, like formatting, trash removing, external hard drive file loss, etc.
Why Cisdem Data Recovery for Mac?
- Recover files from uninitialized, formatted and deleted external hard drive
- Get files back from external and internal hard drive;
- Support recovering 200+ types of files: video, audio, image, document, etc.;
- 5 recovery modes to restore data lost due to different reasons;
- Preview files before recovery;
- High recovery rate;
- Easy and fast;
Steps to Recover Data from Uninitialized External Hard Drive on Mac
- Go to Disk Utility, run the program;
- Choose your external hard drive;
- Click Erase, choose name and format for your disk;
- Then click Erase;
- Download and install Cisdem Data Recovery to your mac;
Free Download - Run the program and choose External Drive Recovery mode;
- Choose your external hard drive and click Scan to start scanning your hard drive;
- Preview and recover files from your uninitialized external hard drive on mac;
Extended: How Do I Initialize External Hard Drive on Mac
Then how to initialize an external hard drive for use? Actually, it is quite easy, because macOS can detect that if a hard drive is initialized or not, then lead you to the initialization.
1. Click on your external hard drive on mac;
2. Then continue with “Initialize” as following, done;
Conclusion
It is not that difficult to fix an uninitialized external hard drive as long as you figure out what caused this, then refer to above listed 8 fixes to get the problem solved. What’s the key is, how to recover the files from your uninitialized external disk even when you are locked out of the disk for now or forever, in this case, Data Recovery Software, like Cisdem will be the life savior.
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How To Downgrade Macos Catalina Without Losing Data
A free public version of macOS Big Sur 11 has been available since November 12, 2020. It offers the best Safari we’ve ever seen, a huge design upgrade, and one very neat Control Center. Ready to dive in? Let’s see how you can do it.
Reinstall Mac Os Catalina Without Losing Data Space
There are two ways to install a new macOS: 1) run a regular upgrade via Apple’s main menu (replace your current macOS with Big Sur on your startup drive); 2) start from scratch and clean install macOS. Option number 2 is a bit more cumbersome and takes more time — but there are many benefits to it. In this article, we explain how to clean install macOS Big Sur without any trouble and why it’s good for your Mac.
Why you should clean install macOS 11
As soon as the new macOS appears, we can’t wait to try it. With Apple promising lots of awesome enhancements, it’s hard to resist the temptation. So it’s no wonder people tend to rush things and choose the quickest way to upgrade macOS — the regular install. Not only is it faster, it also allows you to maintain all your saved settings, apps, and files on a new system. But is it really something your Mac wants?
Speaking in defense of clean install, here’s how it benefits your Mac:
- You get rid of the unnecessary clutter and old system bugs
- Your Mac will run faster — as if you’ve just recently unboxed it
- Uninstall software you never use
- Fix common problems like Mac slowing down, freezing, etc.
Generally, installing a new macOS Big Sur on a clean drive will give your Mac enough space to breathe. You’ll be less likely to experience common Big Sur problems and you’ll get a chance to keep only the data you really need. It’s like you bring the new furniture in an empty apartment instead of a cluttered one.
macOS 11 compatible Macs
Before you take any steps to switch to Big Sur, make sure you check compatibility. With the release of macOS 11, Apple moved a year or two ahead in terms of supported devices, so the chances are your Mac might be off the list (ouch). Here are the Macs that support Big Sur:
- MacBook (2015 or later)
- MacBook Air (2013 or later)
- MacBook Pro (2013 or later)
- Mac Pro (2013 or later)
- Mac Mini (2014 or later)
- iMac (2014 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017 or later).
Not sure which model you have? You can easily check it by clicking on the Apple icon > About This Mac. You’ll find the information you’re looking for in the Overview section.
Reinstall Mac Os Catalina Without Losing Dataset
Steps to clean install Big Sur
Once you’ve decided to start anew with macOS Big Sur, you’re only six steps from achieving your goal. Make sure you follow all of the steps and have a safe experience.
Step 1: Remove all the junk
When we say that clean installation removes everything from your Mac, we forget one important detail — a backup. If you back up your Mac before upgrading, you’ll be able to restore all your files on the new macOS (and with it all the clutter your old system contained.) You want the files back, but you don’t want the clutter. So the first step should be a thorough cleanup of your system.
No worries, it only sounds intimidating. Apps like CleanMyMac X allow you to remove all the clutter — from old caches to file duplicates — in one click. Here’s how to get ready for your Mac backup:
Open CleanMyMac X > Smart Scan
Wait a few seconds for CleanMyMac X to finish the scan
View the unneeded files detected by CleanMyMac X and click Remove.
You can also choose to remove system junk only (find the option in the Cleanup section). This will delete most of the redundant files and let you reclaim lots of storage space. Still, a smart scan cleanup will do a better job while it can also detect potential malware and provide insights into your Mac’s performance. So if you have a couple of minutes, spend it on Smart Scan.
Step 2: Create a secure backup of your Mac
Many people use Apple’s native Time Machine to back up their files, but we don’t recommend it. Users report Time Machine tends to carry over macOS issues into new installations. What’s more, Time Machine can’t do bootable backups, which means you’ll have to go through a long restoration process in case there’s a drive crash or an error of any kind.
Get Backup Pro is a third-party backup utility that makes sure you run zero risks when you clean install Big Sur. And not only Big Sur. It’s generally the best alternative to Time Machine we’ve seen so far. Get Backup Pro allows you to create both backups and bootable clones so you can easily take your data to a replacement drive in case something goes wrong. Plus, you get great features like compression, backup scheduling, and the ability to choose specific files for a backup.
Here’s how to back up your Mac before the Big Sur upgrade:
- Open Get Backup Pro and select Backup in the sidebar
- Click on the plus button to create your backup project
- Customize destination (make sure you save your backup to an external drive)
- Add files and apps data to your backup by clicking on the plus button
- Hit the Backup button (it looks like the Play button) to start the process.
Step 3: Download the Big Sur installer
Starting November 12, you’ll be able to access the Big Sur installer in the Apple menu > About This Mac > Software update. Alternatively, you can download the installer from the Mac App Store. It’s free and effortless.
But be careful, it’s important to not rush things here. Your goal is to save the installer to your Applications folder and not to go through the installation process. So if the installer automatically launches, don’t click Continue. Close the window by clicking on “Quit install.” You’ll use the installer later when you clean install macOS.
Step 4: Create a bootable USB installer
Prepare a flash drive USB with at least 16GB of free storage. Connect it to your Mac and start creating a bootable USB installer. First, you’ll need to erase everything from your drive:
- Access Disk Utility on your Mac
- Select your drive from the list of internal drives and click Erase
- Set the format to Mac OS Extended
- Confirm that you want to erase the drive.
Next step, open Terminal and enter the following command:
sudo /Applications/Install macOS Big Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled
Remember, “Untitled” is the name of your connected drive. If you name it differently, make sure you replace the name in the Terminal command.
Press Return and Y. You might need to type your admin password to confirm your action. Once the process is complete, click Done and close Terminal. That’s it. You just created a bootable USB installer that’s based on the Big Sur installer you had downloaded before.
Step 5: Erase your startup drive
Time to say goodbye to your old macOS. Erase your startup drive fearlessly — you have your most important files securely backed up. Here are the three steps:
- Shut down your Mac and hold down Command + R to enter the Recovery Mode
- Access Disk Utility and select your main startup drive
- Click Erase in the menu and confirm your action.
Step 6: Clean install macOS 11 Big Sur
Finally, here’s how to do a clean install of macOS using your USB installer drive:
- Restart your computer and hold down Option
- Go back to the initial screen of Disk Utility
- Choose to install macOS from the connected USB drive
- Click on Install macOS to confirm your action. Breathe out. And go celebrate!
How to reinstall macOS Big Sur
If you’re not ready to go celebrate because the installation didn’t work, you can try to reinstall Big Sur. All you have to do is restart your Mac and boot in Recovery Mode (Command + R), then click on Reinstall macOS. Hopefully, it works this time.
How to run a regular macOS update
If you don’t want to clean install Big Sur just yet, you can place the new update on top of your current drive, which will preserve all the settings. If your Mac runs on OS X Mavericks or later, you can update directly to Big Sur. Note that Apple recommends you have around 35.5GB available storage and 4GB of memory on your macOS before upgrading. This will be easy to achieve by removing unnecessary files with CleanMyMac X.
Also, even if you run a regular update, do make sure you back up all your data with the Get Backup Pro app. Some might call it an unnecessary precaution. We call it a one-click process that will keep your files safe under any circumstances.
Here’s how to run a standard macOS Big Sur installation:
- Click on the Apple icon in your menu bar > About This Mac
- In the Overview section, click on Software Update
- Click on Update Now to download the installer
- Follow the installation instructions on your screen.
macOS clean install safety toolkit
Setapp has CleanMyMac X, Get Backup Pro, and 200+ other top-notch apps that will support your Mac on its way to Big Sur. So if you have the Setapp membership, no need to worry, you’re safe. Even more, Setapp has Disk Drill, a popular data recovery tool — just in case the impossible happens and you lose your data switching to the new macOS. The whole suite of apps in Setapp is free for 7 days, then $9.99/month. Give it a try!